A Great Letter That Tells It Like It Is!

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Long Hauler’s Recognition – A Letter From A Truck Driver’s Wife
Posted on March 25, 2009 by Karen

This story is dedicated to every long~haul truck driver out there, men & women alike!!!

My name is Karen Smith (yes….Smith….is my last name, I didn’t change it to protect the innocent). I am the wife of a long~haul driver and I’m writing this to give recognition to those where very little is given, which is very much needed.

Attention to ALL people that think truck driving is such a glamorous career…..THINK AGAIN!! I believe with everything that I am, anyone that is busting their…..(well, you know)…..ever hour on the road to get freight transported from one place to another, should be recognized & commended for what they do.

Sleeping in the trucks in extreme conditions (from life to weather), living out of public restrooms (some not as well kept as others) for personal hygiene, having to eat from what trucker’s call “roach coaches” & fast food places, not getting enough rest & having to BATTLE with idiot a**, disrespectful drivers in their cars that haven’t even got a clue, as well don’t care that those trucks & trailers are 80,000 lb killing machines. Then, on top of all that, drivers have to deal with, on a daily basis, their dispatcher & the lies that they tell.

Now I know that some of you who’ll read this will say “What about me, my job is just as important, don’t I get to be recognized?” I’m not discounting you in any way, shape or form as well as what you do for a living. The message that I want to send is in accordance to me being one of THOSE PEOPLE that had NO CLUE! I didn’t care & while driving my car, I thought that truck driving was a wonderful, easy job due to the fact that the person behind the wheel got to travel & see “the sights” of the world……WRONG!!!

After being with my husband out in the truck, I have to let you know that I have a totally different idea, opinion & attitude regarding the whole truckers lifestyle.

One example of a trip we took (which by the way was my very first trip out): Our day started out with us having to pick up our load which was 5 hours late & with that cutting into his drive time, didn’t give him much time from point A to point B of our destination (and for you who don’t know, they can only drive 11 hours in a 14 hour window).

When we finally got to our drop off destination (after living out of somewhat unsanitary conditions regarding public restrooms & staying at truck stops or sleeping in rest areas), we had to return to one more truck stop in Northern Fresno, California, just to sit for 4 days before we got another load to take us back to point A…..HOME……and with all that being said I’m here to inform you that getting the flu on top of everything didn’t make the trip much fun either.. I felt like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz on the return trip when she clicked her heals together and said “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home……..”. I was never so happy to be home in all my life.
Now regarding the pay for such a glamorous career, I have only one thing to say for that…….it’s not what it should be for *job well done*. It’s sad when you work so hard & bust your humps for a corporation (or company) and “THEY” don’t even take the time to recognize that it’s the drivers who risk their lifes bringing in the “BIG BUCKS” for them while they sit in the cushy homes and live their regular 8 to 5 lives.

Regarding the “hubs” or “company yards” as they are called, that the drivers have to call their “home away from home” , they aren’t even adequate enough & some of the restrooms facilities in them (if they have them which some don’t)….well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t even let my pets use them, that’s how unsanitary they are. The driver’s lounges in some of these places aren’t large enough to capacitate all the truckers that are layed over waiting on freight.

What made me changed my mind & attitude about this lifestyle is what society, as a whole doesn’t know & that’s the “behind the scenes” of how they get to purchase everything from the toilet paper they use to the big screen T.V.’s they watch………from the food they eat to the food they feed their pets (and everything in between).

Now, you may be thinking to yourself that these men & women chose what they do for a living……I agree…………. but what they didn’t choose & can’t change (for the most part) is how they are being treated by the ones (the corporations & company’s) that should be giving them ample & adequate facilities to call their “home away from home” (if not just out of appreciation and nothing more for what the driver does do).

When it comes to the professional side of this business, where the administration and dispatchers are concerned…..here goes!!!!!

I feel that EVERY dispatcher (driver manager as some call them) should have been a driver for at least 1 year, and if not, they should have to go out in the truck with a driver for a least 2 weeks to a month (1 to 2 trips), live exactly the way the truck driver has to live while on the road, experience what ALL drivers go through so that they (the dispatchers) will know how to schedule the loads.

Concerning the “shirts”, “skirts” & “suits” (the administration), I think they should have to do the same as the dispatchers…..RIDE ALONG!!! Live out of the truck just as the driver does so that they can gain more respect for those that are bringing in the high dollars for their high priced vehicles, their kids college educations and those high mortgage payments because most drivers that I’ve talked with can’t send their kids to college, are having their homes forclosed, are going into bankruptcy and drive “beaters” that only get them from point A to point B.

To me, it’s heart~hardening to see someone work so hard and receive so little in return. Some drivers don’t even get “holiday pay” even though they’re gone for them away from their families, bonuses or even a pat on the back now & then just to hear a “thank you” for job well done.

What’s disturbing to me in my observations of all this is the difference between the office personnel & truck driver.

The driver will acknowledge everyone that’s within ear~shot, to give them a smile & say hello, to make idle conversation to pass the time…but the office staff will go out of their way to not have to associate with the truck driver….(as if they’re better than…) and the driver is just a low~life that is “nothing” in their eyes.

With everything I’ve written, I want you to know I’m not forgetting that this happens in quite a few professions. I’m not disregarding what others go through because I’ve experienced that in some of the jobs that I’ve had throughout my life (so some of this is coming from personal as well), I’m just expressing my observations, opinions & experiences.

I would like to inform you that what I’ve gone through, what I’ve seen & heard, while on the road with my husband, will FOREVER be engraved in my heart.

I’m sending each & every one of you long~haulers, day drivers, short timers and seasoned drivers (men & women) a HUGE HUG, a firm hand shake and a warm smile…….as well to let you ALL know…….

*** JOB WELL DONE !!! ***

YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS & PRAYERS ALWAYS.

THANK YOU and LOVE TO ALL,

KAREN SMITH
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— Thanks Karen for posting an eye-opening letter for everyone. As a driver of 24 years myself, I think you covered all this bases. It damn sure ain’t “Smokey And The Bandit” or ” BJ And The Bear”! LOL!

Letter From A Truck Driver

Dear Fellow Human,

You think we’re horrible people because we drive big trucks and there are accidents on occasion. What you didn’t read is who was at fault when the car cut me off and then slammed on their brakes, not realizing I can’t stop in one foot. What you didn’t see is the drunk driver turning head on into me, and me trying to ditch it (that is, slam the truck into the ditch) before he hit me. You didn’t see the person spin out on an icy road right in front of me while I had nowhere to go. I got out though, and I cut him out of his seat belt, and pulled him to safety right before his car caught fire. I stayed there with him until the ambulance came and took them to the hospital.

You hear 18 wheels, you think 18 brakes. I hear 80,000 pounds, I think a couple football fields are needed to brake.

You think I’m a womanizer due to certain movies. You didn’t see me call my wife and spend the whole night between when I stopped my truck to when I went to sleep talking to her. You didn’t see me stop and ask my fiancée and co-pilot to get out because a beaten woman was standing in the middle of a highway at 0100 to get away from her abuser and get help. My fiancée handled the situation, and got me to help when it got deep. She’s a former beaten woman. When I took her on she was bruised from head to toe, and it still makes me sick to remember how she looked like when we met. You missed me getting in between the gun of a jilted lover and his ex, having help from another driver to keep his car at bay so she would be safe.

You think we don’t care about others. You missed Wishes on Wheels, where we make money for Make-A-Wish to grant wishes for children. You missed where I gave money to Trucking Santas, making sure needy children get toys. You missed where I hopped on my motorcycle and did another toy run on top of that. You didn’t see me peering through Truckers Against Pedophiles to ensure I knew the faces of fugitive pedophiles, or when I watched the educational video for Truckers Against Trafficking, to help save human trafficking victims.

You say I’m a drug addict. That I’m an alcoholic. You didn’t see when I let the cops use my truck for drug stings, knowing that the issues need to be cleaned up. You didn’t get a chance to see me call 911 when a 4 door sedan’s driver was drunk and swerving all over the road.

You don’t see the real me, yet you think you know the real me. I’m not saying there aren’t bad people out here, I’m just saying that a vast majority of us are really good people.

Sincerely,
A Truck Driver

Both of those letters were great! Thanks for sharing.